The late Lionel Moorey, who had retired as CP's Superintendent here
is Sudbury commented on "the coming of the diesels" in several ways;
* CPR knew next to nothing of the capabilities of the diesels when
they first arrived, despite what GM and MLW (in this area) or HQ in
Montreal told them and were amazed as they discovered more and more
ways in which they outperformed steam.
* The MU capabilitiees of the new road power was a financial blessing
for the railway since no additional crew members were required when
adding a unit.
The Algoma Central - I believe the first Canadian railway to
competely dieselize - discovered such things as:
* A senior ACR engineer who was assigned to the GM A&B units
'borrowed' from CPR for several days (Two of the three were used by
the ACR) got down from the A unit after a couple of days, looked at
his gloves and remarked that he would have gotten them this dirty
"getting into a steam locomotive".
* On the ACR, as with all other railways buying diesels, the number
of water tank and coaling tower sites no longer required, along with
the consequent saving of labour and train miles made it all very
worthwhile.
"Paul Smith" <pbsmith@...> wrote:
First off, remember that this was the early years of dieselization
so that everything was a learning experience including which
manufacturer made the best (or most suitable) product and how best
to deploy it...Regarding "B" units, of course they are less flexible
than an "A" unit, but of course they are cheaper to purchase and
maintain due to the lack of a cab and all the equipment in the cab.
were marked by a learning curve for both manufacturer and owner.I agree with your assessment, Paul, that the early diesel years
Very similar to the CPR's purchase of both FA and FB units for its
Vermont line was the CNR's FM C-Liners that were used to dieselize
the CV's road freights, which also operated through White River
Junction, ca. 1952. The CNR purchased both A and B units but I've
never seen more than two units used in a single consist in those
early years. Both A-A and A-B combos were used.
JSH
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